NEW PERTUSSIS VACCINE HAS FEWER RISKS

Whooping cough (pertussis) is on the rise. But just in time, research teams worldwide are testing a new, potentially safer vaccine. Others are working on a quick way to rid the body of the bacteria once infection occurs.

Last year, the disease struck 4,162 U.S. patients -- mostly infants and children -- according to the Centers for Disease Control. That's more than double the number in 1982 -- the year news of the current vaccine's risks splashed all over the front pages.

Public health officials are reassuring parents that current DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) shots are safe. They insist the risk posed by the actual disease is much greater than the possible effects of the vaccine (shock, seizure and brain damage). Still, scientists in the United States and Japan are testing an "acellular" vaccine that provokes fewer of the milder reactions. This version is made from components of the killed pertussis organism, whereas the current vaccine uses killed whole cells.